1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle-mounted information processing device for executing an application such as navigation functions, and a storage medium having embodied therein a computer program for making a machine function as the information processing device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 8 is a diagram hierarchically showing the structure of a prior art vehicle-mounted information processing device. In the figure, reference numeral 201 denotes navigation hardware including a remote controller, a CD (Compact Disc)-ROM drive, a display, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver, etc., numeral 202 denotes a navigation OS (operating system) having basic functions to control the navigation hardware 201, numeral 203 denotes device drivers for directly controlling the navigation hardware 201, and numeral 204 denotes a navigation application for implementing a navigation system. This prior art vehicle-mounted information processing device has a ROM for storing these programs, a microprocessor for executing them, etc.
In operation, in the prior art vehicle-mounted information processing device, the navigation application 204 is executed on the navigation OS 202, an event generated by each piece of navigation hardware 201 is processed properly, and the navigation system is implemented.
Thus, the prior art vehicle-mounted information processing device implements a navigation system. The navigation application 204 of the vehicle-mounted information processing device can be developed on a general-purpose OS installed in a personal computer; in other words, the navigation application 204 can be developed on a platform consisting of a personal computer and a general-purpose OS. The navigation application 204 is transplanted onto a platform consisting of the navigation hardware 201, the navigation OS 202, and the device drivers 203 after it has been completed.
When developing a navigation application 204 on a platform consisting of a personal computer and a general-purpose OS, and transplanting this on the platform consisting of the navigation hardware 201, the navigation OS 202, and the device drivers 203, it is necessary to modify the navigation application 204 since the transfer of various information between the navigation application 204 and the navigation OS 202 depends on a component of the platform, such as the navigation OS 202, and, therefore, the development of a navigation application 204 becomes complex.
A prior art technology that solves the problem is described in Japanese patent application publication No. 11-211489. FIG. 9 is a diagram hierarchically showing the structure of another prior art vehicle-mounted information processing device disclosed in Japanese patent application publication No. 11-211489. In the figure, reference numerals 211 to 213 respectively denote a plurality of interface modules each of which includes, for instance, Java(trademark) Virtual Machine, Java basic API (Application Programming Interface), a navigation class library, and Java extension API, the plurality of interface modules being provided for a plurality of services, respectively. The explanation of other components will be omitted hereafter since those components are the same as those shown in FIG. 8.
In operation, in the prior art vehicle-mounted information processing device, the plurality of interface modules 211 to 213 each of which includes, for instance, Java Virtual Machine, Java basic API, a navigation class library, and Java extension API operate on the navigation OS 202, and the navigation application 204 operates on the plurality of interface modules 211 to 213. At this time, for each service provided by the navigation application 204, a corresponding one of the plurality of interface modules 211 to 213 performs transfer of predetermined information between the navigation OS 202 and the navigation application 204.
Thus, the navigation application 204 can operate on the plurality of interface modules 211 to 213, each of which consists of Java Virtual Machine etc. in the prior art vehicle-mounted information processing device constructed as shown in FIG. 9. Accordingly, the same navigation application 204 can be made to operate on different platforms.
A problem with a prior art vehicle-mounted information processing device constructed as above is that since an interface module is provided for each service, a plurality of event waitings occur in a navigation application and it therefore becomes necessary to make processes synchronize with each other in the navigation application, and, as a result, the structure of the navigation application and hence the development of the navigation application becomes complex.
The present invention is proposed to solve the above-mentioned problems, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle-mounted information processing device capable of, when transferring information from a platform to a navigation application, transferring it in a constant data format to all services provided by the navigation application, and, when transferring information from the navigation application to the platform, transferring it in a certain data format corresponding to the platform, by using a single interface means, and a storage medium having embodied thereon a computer program for making a machine function as the information processing device, thereby simplifying the structure of the navigation application and providing easy development of navigation applications.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle-mounted information processing device comprising: a platform having vehicle-mounted hardware and one or more basic functions to control the hardware; an application processing unit for performing a predetermined processing by using the one or more basic functions of the platform; and a single interface unit for, when transferring information from the platform to the application processing unit, transferring it in a constant data format, and for, when transferring information from the application processing unit to the platform, transferring it in a certain data format corresponding to the platform.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, each of the single interface unit and the application processing unit includes a common interface unit for transferring information in a constant data format.
In accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the single interface unit includes a hardware monitor unit for monitoring each of a plurality of pieces of hardware included in the vehicle-mounted hardware, an event generation unit for generating a platform-independent event corresponding to an event generated in any one of the plurality of pieces of hardware detected by the hardware monitor unit, and an event transmission unit for transmitting the platform-independent event generated by the event generation unit to the application processing unit.
Preferably, when the hardware monitor unit detects two or more events, the event generation unit generates two or more platform-independent events from the events one by one based on predetermined priorities assigned to the detected events.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer readable storage medium having embodied thereon a computer program, the computer program making a machine function as: an application processing unit for performing a predetermined processing by using one or more basic functions of a platform having vehicle-mounted hardware; and a single interface unit for, when transferring information from the platform to the application processing unit, transferring it in a constant data format, and for, when transferring information from the application processing unit to the platform, transferring it in a certain data format corresponding to the platform.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.